Trying to mimic a vocal effect.. please help!

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Javalon22

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Hello everyone. My band is recording our own demo CD using all our own equipment (poor college students). I am trying to really add in a lot of vocal effects to really make it a huge improveent over our last recordings. I am trying to mimic a vocal effect I have heard a few places, but I just can't get it! It sorta makes the voice sound compressed and tinny yet nasal. It's really great for backups and side vocals, especially when you pan it to one side. You can really hear it in Midtown - "Like a Movie" and a little in SR-71 - "Fame" right before the chorus. It's pretty much the only prominent vocal effect in "Like a Movie" so try that first. I have an ART multi-effects processor that I might be able to tweak to get the sound out of if I knew the ingredients. Plus we are doing all the recording into CoolEdit Pro 2.0 so I can get computer effects as well. I would appreciate any help I can get!!

Loafers Glory
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SOUNDS LIKE YOU MAY BE GOING FOR A MEGAPHONE BUT FAR AWAY TYPE OF EFFECT?
 
yeah, that sounds about right

OF COURSE!! I had forgotten. Great. Is there any way to simulate that without a megaphone? hehe... broke college student speaking... i don't really know anybody that would have one either.
 
Use EQ to generously cut the lows and highs. Add some compression and distortion and maybe a bit of slapback echo.
 
BOOST AROUND 5K, CUT THE LOWS, ADD MILD DELAY, BOOST THE INPUT GAIN TO GET A MILD DISTORTION- A TUBE PRE-AMP WORKS WELL FOR THIS. IF YOU DONT HAVE ONE THERE MAY BE A DISTORTION "EFFECT" IN COOL EDIT. GOOD LUCK - (I WAS A BROKE COLLEGE STUDENT UNTIL LAST JUNE WHEN I BECAME A BROKE COLLEGE GRAD)
 
I am trying to really add in a lot of vocal effects to really make it a huge improveent over our last recordings.
Click to expand...

Sometimes less is more. Using only a little reverb and some compression can make a song sound pro.

I see what you want to do though. Just remember to add variety and not overuse an effect otherwise the cd will be boring and bland.

Bottom line: remember to have fun!

Tukkis
 
Yup, if it's the effect that I'm thinking of, we use it in some radio spots that we cut. Like RoadKill says, cut the highs and lows generously. I usually boost 1K - 5K. A small amout of reverb is good too. Hope that's what you are looking for.
 
Thanks everybody. I tried it out on the ART and managed to get a pretty good sound. I'll work a little more on the preamps later and see what I can dig up. You must understand, our last recording had NO vocal effects. I mean practically none at all. We had a row of big gigs coming up and we literally finished the demo the night before we started selling them. It worked though! We now have a loyal following of fans eagerly awaiting the next recording. This time we're taking our time to make it something good.
 
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